Tucker County native Loughry to take over as WV chief justice

That’s certainly the case with Tucker County native Allen H. Loughry II, who will take over as chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals on Jan. 1.

Loughry, who was elected to the Court in 2012, is the first justice — and soon to be first chief justice — from Tucker County.

In his new role, he will be the presiding officers over the state’s judicial branch, which encompass West Virginia’s 74 circuit courts, 47 family courts and 158 magistrate courts.

In addition, he will preside over oral arguments when the High Court is in session and rule on motions to recuse judicial officers in lower courts when there is a potential conflict of interest, among other duties.

“I feel honored to have this opportunity, particularly coming from a small county like Tucker County,” Loughry said. “I, perhaps, look at public service different than some people do. I grew up in an average household in a rural part of the state, and I am proud to be able to work in this job.”

“One of my focuses in this position is something I call my Leaders of Tomorrow program, in that I spent a lot of time speaking with students around the state and trying to really reach them and let them know that they can do anything they set their mind to. If they play by the rules and focus on academics, they don’t have to be from a family who are multimillionaires. They matter. They count, and they can achieve anything if they set their mind to it.” Loughry added.

UPBRINGING AND EDUCATION

Loughry was born Aug. 9, 1970, in Elkins at the now-shuttered Memorial General Hospital on Harrison Avenue.

He was raised in Parsons and attended Tucker County High School.

“I grew up in a very average West Virginia household. My father is an Air Force veteran, worked construction most of his life, was a small business owner and retired as the Tucker County Assessor. My mother worked in a shoe plant for (a) period of time assembling shoes, and she later retired from her position as a secretary for the Department of Agriculture. They still live in Parsons,” Loughry said. “My parents taught me and my two sisters the values of honesty, integrity and hard work.”

“In Tucker County, you basically know everyone. I was fortunate to get to know so many people from the community throughout the years while growing up and working in my father’s store, The Parsons News & Novelty, and also in writing for the local newspaper, The Parsons Advocate,” Loughry added. “I am better for all of those experiences.”

During his high school career, Loughry played on the Mountain Lions’ football team as a left guard alongside Kennedy Award-winning quarterback Jed Drenning. The pair helped lead Tucker County to its only two Class AA West Virginia High School football championship game appearances in 1986 and 1987.

“The lifelong friendships I have with my teammates are something that I will always cherish,” Loughry said. “I am also appreciative of the constant support the community has always shown toward all of our athletes as well as toward the students who excelled in the many areas other than sports.”

Aside from sports, high school was where Loughry first became interested in the law and civics.

His civics teacher — Carol Roy — helped to nurture his interest in government, nominating him to attend the Presidential Classroom in 1988. The event, held in Washington, D.C., drew students from all 50 state and 12 other countries to learn about politics and government.

It was during this event that Loughry met his wife, Berkeley Springs native Kelly Swaim — the only other attendee from West Virginia — in the office of U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd.

“She is now Kelly Loughry and the mother of our wonderful son, Justus, “Loughry said. “We both still have our pictures of the very first time we met in Sen. Byrd’s office. We have them framed side-by-side.”

Loughry graduated from Tucker County High School in 1988 and went on to attend and graduate from the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism at West Virginia University.

During his undergraduate tenure, he continued to write for The Parsons Advocate and also wrote for the Dominion Post in Morgantown and did freelance work for the Associated Press.

Loughry then went on to earn a law degree from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, where he graduated with the honor of Order of the Curia.

He didn’t stop there in furthering his education, as he also obtained a doctor of juridical science from the American University Washington College of Law. While there, he distinguished himself as one of the first three people in the world to be admitted to the SJD program. Loughry also holds a masters of law in criminology and criminal justice from the University of London and a masters of laws in law and government from the American University College of Law.

He also studied at the University of Oxford in England and received the program’s top political science award. In 1999, he completed a program on human rights and humanitarian law through American University and the University of Utrecht’s Netherlands Institute of Human Rights.

In 2013, American University Washington College of Law awarded Loughry its Distinguished Alumnus award.

“I’ve always been fascinated with the law,” Loughry said. “I recall one time when working for a U.S. congressman, we were meeting with some constituents who had lost their jobs due to a plant closure. There were people grabbing ahold of my arm and the arm of the congressman pleading with us to help them. That was one of those moments where I knew I was absolutely going to law school.”

“That increase in education would allow me to have better tools to help people like that in the future,” he added. “I am proud of my law degrees. While working full-time, I obtained three additional law degrees. I did that not to become a long-term student. I did that because I realized the value of an education. I still realize on a daily basis how important an education is.”

LAW AND POLITICAL CAREER

In 1997, Loughry completed a legal externship with the Ohio Supreme Court. He later served as a special assistant to U.S. Rep Harley O. Staggers Jr. and as a direct aide to former West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton.

“I worked for Gov. Caperton and traveled throughout the state with him as a 21-year-old kid,” Loughry said. “It was just a wonderful experience. Then, I worked for Congressman Harley Staggers in his Washington, D.C., office. It was during this time I started to continue my legal education outside normal working hours. It all was quite an experience.”

In 1988-1989, he served as a personal assistant in the Tucker County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.

From 1997-2003, Loughry was a senior assistant attorney general in the West Virginia Attorney General’s office, where he served in both the Appellate and Administration divisions and was appointed as a special prosecuting attorney several times to handle criminal cases throughout the Mountain State.

In 2003, he began working as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, a job he held when he was elected to the Court in 2012.

“I come from a West Virginia family without a lot of money,”Loughry said. “Oftentimes, people who run for statewide elections are multimillionaires and put in an enormous amount of their own personal money or raise millions in large donations from the wealthy or are politically connected. I chose not to run for election that way.”

“During this time, I was driving a 1996 Jeep,” Loughry added. “At that time, the heating and air conditioning had stopped working. A couple of my opponents were multimillionaires and did spend a considerable amount of money on their election (campaigns). I strongly believe that judges should be different from those from the other two branches of government and treat everyone equally in spite of any political affiliation.”

During the 2012 election, Loughry ran as a Republican; however, judges now run for office unaffiliated.

“I have always said that justices should treat everyone the same and follow the law rather than follow a political agenda,”Loughry said. “The Supreme Court should never be political. Justices must be able to make impartial decisions based solely upon our laws. The process must be fair, whether we are dealing with a baker or a billionaire. This is necessary for both individual liberty and economic prosperity and serves even a far more important goal of maintaining public trust in the legal system as it keeps the other political branches in check.”

The 2014 Tuckineer Award winner also has been an adjunct professor at the University of Charleston, where he continues to occasionally speak on government, ethics reform, politics, history, education and the election process.

PUBLISHED BOOK

In 2006, Loughry published “Don’t Buy Another Vote, I Won’t Pay for a Landslide: The Sordid and Continuing History of Political Corruption in West Virginia.”

The book was a culmination of more than a decade worth of research that started with his thesis at American University. The book covers corruption in West Virginia from before the Civil War and statehood through 2006. Topics include the Battle of Blair Mountain, the 1960 primary election win of John F. Kennedy, the Hatfields and McCoys and many other topics.

Forwards for the book were written by U.S. Sens. Byrd, D-W.Va., and John McCain, R-Ariz. It was the only forward Byrd wrote for any published book.

“I joke with friends that I was an equal opportunity offender,”Loughry said of the work. “I looked at the state’s history from 1861 until present day and covered many issues that I believe plagued our political system throughout the years. I suggested ways to improve the system, and when I did that, I told my wife that any possibility of me in public service was probably ended, because I was certain I was going to make some people upset.”

“However, I was very happy that I was wrong,” he added. “As I campaigned around the state, people would show up at events with the book and talk about many of the problems that we have faced in West Virginia. It’s not that people don’t care, it’s just that many of them feel jaded and let down and frustrated and also helpless in how to deal with some of the issues that have plagued our government.”

ISSUES FACING WEST VIRGINIA

The soon-to-be chief justice will have a full plate when the gavel drops for the January term. One facet Loughry will be eyeing closely, aside from regular court business, is the judicial branches budget and expenditures.

“With regard to the state of West Virginia, it is clear to me that we know the state is facing a serious financial crisis,” Loughry said. “While I wish that weren’t the case, I believe that is something we are going to be facing. I don’t see that changing in the immediate future. I am hopeful; however, that our government and legislators will work well together on how to come up with solutions to these problems.”

“From the judicial standpoint, we are certainly looking at everything that we are doing and trying to figure out any way we can to save money in light of the state’s fiscal issues. We really have to look closely at every single expenditure. The Supreme Court budget is only about 3 percent of the entire state budget, even though we are one separate and co-equal branch of government. The Supreme Court has always taken its budgetary responsibilities very seriously. Aside from that, the court is going to continue to function, and we are going to work hard to put out good legal opinions and to do so in a timely manner.”

While not delving into the politics of the issues facing the state, Loughry also sees education as a major hurdle.

“Our education system and the quality of it is something that is extremely important to me,” he said. “However, justices have to be very careful regarding specific comments on a lot of issues.”

Loughry, though, will be doing his part to help boost local educational efforts. In April, he will bring the entire state Supreme Court to Tucker County as part of the Legal Advancement for West Virginia Students program.

“We are going to bring the juniors and seniors from Tucker County High School to the Tucker County Courthouse to hear three actual cases that are currently pending before the Supreme Court,” Loughry said. “I will work with local judges, attorneys and school officials during the months leading up to the arguments to prepare the students for the cases. I am hopeful this will be a fun and useful experience for all of the students and that the community will also attend the April arguments and enjoy the day.”

“It’s important to me to send the message to all the students growing up in our small, but vibrant county that they do matter, they do count and they can achieve anything they set their minds to …,” Loughry said. “I have always felt that anyone should be able to participate in our political system regardless of their personal wealth or political connections.”

CHIEF JUSTICE AND SUPREME COURT

Chief justices are selected among court members prior to the start of each year’s term in January. Traditionally, chief justices serve for one year and the position rotates among the five members of the court; however, that always isn’t the case.

Serving alongside Loughry on the High Court is Menis E. Ketchum II, the outgoing chief justice, Robin Jean Davis, Brent D. Benjamin and Margaret L. Workman.

The Court has two terms per year, one in January and another in September, which is set by state statue.

Loughry said the workload is significant, with little true downtime.

“Even when those two terms of court end, it’s not as if the court goes on vacation,” he said. “What happens, for example, is at the end of this most recent term, we completed our work for that term and immediately started to prepare for the January 2017 term. Work constantly flows, and it’s very important to me that people get decisions from this court in a timely manner, and I believe we are successful in doing that.”

“When the January term of court begins, people will file petitions for us to hear their appeals, and most of those will be handled in that very same term of court. Most courts around the country are not able to say that,” Loughry added.

POLITICAL FUTURE AND OUTLOOK

Supreme Court justices in West Virginia are elected to 12-year terms. Loughry’s term will expire in 2024; however, when asked about higher political aspirations, he remained humble, like his Tucker County roots.

“I absolutely love my job,” Loughry said. “If I get to serve in this position beyond my current term, I will be the luckiest person in the world.”

“I am deeply honored that West Virginians voted for me four years ago and allow me to serve as a justice on the Supreme Court,” he added. “I said during my campaign that if the citizens of this state would honor me with their votes, that I would serve them with honor, and that is how I approach this job on a daily basis, and that is certainly how I will approach the job as the chief justice.”

It all, though, comes back to Tucker County and Central West Virginia for Loughry. The influences in his life and throughout his career have been profound, and he remains proud of his upbringing and time in the area.

“Elkins is as much home as Parsons is in so many ways. I have been blessed to have wonderful parents, some excellent teachers and professors throughout the years, the support of colleagues and a great group of friends.”

The West Virginia Supreme Court of appeals contributed to this article.

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